Monday, July 1, 2013

I think I outdid Sandra the Sewing Muse with that alliterative-laced post title. Now about the birdbath...Since my daughter was going to Marshall's for a little shopping, I gave her $20 just in case there were some interesting and inexpensive glass pieces to feed my glass garden ornament obsession.

Were I not being chewed up by mosquitos, I would have gotten a better shot of the bottom piece. It looks like green glass roots coming up out of the ground. Keegan says it looks like something that would grow at Hogwarts.

Friday, June 28, 2013

I saw one of these in my friend's Cape Cod garden over the weekend which inspired a trip to the Salvation Army store. I accidentally lucked out by arriving on a "most-things-are-half-price-today" sale!

Nature assisted by filling this one last night.

The upside-down base vases of both totems are sitting atop pieces of a straight curtain rod--so much cheaper than buying something. and the white looks good!

The top piece of this one is a $6 paperweight from Marshall's. The rest of the pieces of both totems are S. A. purchases that were from fifty cents to a dollar. To bring in more blue, I filled the center piece, a cruet with a nice snug top, with water and blue food coloring.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Danni at Silo Hill Farm had a post about the Bloomin' Marvelous series going at Inspiration Cafe that really did inspire me to do something related to the garden! Here is my newest birdbath. This one, for my hummingbirds, really does look like a giant flower to me.

Both pieces were from Marshall's. The base piece is about two feet high, a giant stemmed goblet! You can see the base better in the next photo. I splurged on that, ten whole dollars. The top, though, was only $4. Fourteen dollars to give the little beauties their own private bath doesn't seem too much. They've been flitting around the hanging water at the large bird feeders which made me think they might like a small place for water near where they feed. My hummingbirds LOVE the Hosta flowers.

These join the other two glass birdbaths I blogged about here and here. I need to branch out and use another material next time.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

I made another birdbath! Love it! My new squirrel-proof bird feeders are working so well I needed another birdbath for all my feathered guests.

I could not find a matching plate and vase in "my price range" (aka cheap). Sooo, I got a blue decorative plate for $5.99 and a clear vase
for $7.99. I used food coloring to get the water to the same shade as
the plate. (Don't use too much food coloring. A little goes a long
way.) Blue with just a couple of drops of green got the water to match
the plate almost perfectly. I put this together the same as I did this one last year.

You can read about that here. I used the E6000 glue and clear silicone caulk same as last year, although a more permanent glass epoxy might be another way to do it.

The red one doesn't have water in the base, and moisture got in before I sealed it with the silicone caulk last year. That wasn't a good look. With the blue one being filled with water, I sealed this one with silicone to keep the water clean and clear. I left an inch of space in case the water needs some room to expand or something. Science is not my strong suit. I might be wrong with that need for expansion. It may not be necessary to leave the space. Maybe some reader can let us know in the comments.

I shall let you know how the birds like it.

Update: Two things I'd like to mention here. First, Duckyzgal asked about the water getting contaminated in the comment section. If you have concerns/questions, I've added some info in my reply to her comment below.

Second, I probably should have reemphasized some things about using the E6000 in this post. You really have to use it according to the directions and sparingly. If you put on too much it will run down the glass. While you can cut off run lines on the outside, you can't on the inside. That said, E6000 dries to a rubbery finish that can be cut off. It's not a big deal to take off the old glue and try again.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Someone had a post in which she used small glass vases and other dishes to make garden ornaments. I loved them, but I have none of that kind of stuff hanging around. BUT, the local Marshall's store has all kinds of inexpensive glass things that I've always loved looking at but had no reason to buy. While wandering I found two small orange vases that turned into this:

Then I found an enormous red glass vase and and equally large platter that I thought would make a great birdbath. The combination was a bit wobbly so I glued another piece to the bottom to make the base wider.

I hope the birds like this as much as I do. I used E6000 sparingly and according to the directions after globbing on too much the first time. I also put a thin clear silicone caulk line around the joints to keep moisture out. ( Learn from my mistake. If the pieces have any openings between them, moisture will get in and may show through.

As for the cost, all these pieces were very inexpensive. The three pieces of the birdbath in descending order were $7, $9, and $6. The E6000 and silicone caulk were already here from other projects.